Shenmue 3 developer Ys Net has announced that it will be unable to provide Steam keys to Kickstarter backers at launch. In addition, in the lead up to Shenmue 3’s launch, it has also been announced that a Stretch Goal that was met by backers has not been included in the game.
In a blog post update on Kickstarter, Ys Net explained that “coordination with the sales policies of the involved companies was untenable”, and as a result the developer is unable to provide Steam keys for PC players on launch day.
While not clearly laid out in the post, this is likely due to Ys Net and publisher Deep Silver partnering with Epic Games Store for PC distribution. Shenmue 3 is currently a limited-time exclusive for the Epic Games Store, and will be for one year. This deal was brokered after the Kickstarter began, and back then supporters had been told that Shenmue 3 would be released on Steam. This change, bolstered by the current discontent with Epic’s exclusive strategy, led to fan backlash against Ys Net.
Source: IGN.com Shenmue 3: Steam Keys Will Not Be Offered to Backers at Launch